I just paid a RM 40 parking ticket for parking at a no-parking zone. It has increased, along with the petrol price hike, from the previous RM 30. That’s a 33% increase, which is just about in line with the 40% petrol price increase. The traffic police goes around on motorcycles, which uses petrol too. I guess that justifies the traffic ticket increase then. Oh, I forgot to put the sarcasm tags in.

However, the efficiency of our local men in blue (white actually, for the traffic police) has also increased, by perhaps 74%. I just parked my car and got out to pass something to Sandra – it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two, and her assistant told me that there’s a traffic police writing a traffic ticket at my car.

I had hoped to catch the traffic police before he wrote it and…er, perhaps buy him a cup of coffee or something. *cough* However, not only was the ticket already on my windscreen wiper, the traffic cop had actually LEFT. Fu-yoh! Efficient!

Headed out to see the Borneo Post editor today. I feel like writing something to be published. I
went to the wrong office though, I thought it was the one at Sungai Antu but that’s the printing
press and management offices. The editorial ones are in town, above Ta Kiong. I was surprised to
see that the offices are all equipped with Macs. Rows and rows of Power Mac G4s, even the editor
was using one. Guess Wintel is not in vogue with the publishing crowd.

Anyway, I was interested in covering crime scenes and such, but I hear you need police
connections for that. I was relegated to doing public interest articles…I haven’t thought of one,
but I’ll crack out my word processor and write one up when I’m in the mood. Anyway, I headed back
to find out that I’ve been ticketed (again) by those damned SMC ticket inspectors.

Hmph…luckily this kind of parking ticket does not involve demerit points, just a fine. The
police issue ones comes with 10 demerit points free of charge. Parking here involves coupons, which
are displayed at the windshield, and I neglected to put one up before I left the car.

Well, I headed off to Wisma Sanyan after that to get something to eat and develop my photos. I
brought my scanner back so I’m in the process of scanning all my film prints this holiday to
archive them. I also picked up a couple of pirated VCDs, I saw that the newer ones are much clearer
now and the sound is slightly better too, compared to those gnarly ones a couple of years back.
They cost RM 5, which is slightly less than A$ 2.50. Back in the days, these VCDs often has people
standing up, coughing, cell phones ringing and other assorted noise. It’s because they are filmed
using a camcorder in a cinema. The newer ones doesn’t have this problem though, I wonder what
changed in the filming process.

The Minority Report and Men In Black II

Site update: Due to popular demand (okay, no one requested it, but I wanted to do it anyway)
I’ve put up a POTD Archive.

It didn’t even register to me that I was parking illegally coz I’ve been parking at that spot
for so many times and heaps of people park there too. It’s that line beside the road divider in
Taman Selera. Hmph…while I was eating, one of the stall waitress asked me where I parked and I
said at the road divider and she told me that the traffic police are writing summons. I rushed
there but they were already in the middle of the line and I was the first car in the line.
Sheesh…I took a photo of them anyway, this photo is worth RM30 and 10 demerit points, so please
save it to your hard disk or set it as your wallpaper. =D

(Click for a larger picture)

The smoke is from the satay BBQ beside me. I have taken the liberty of applying a mosaic
filter to the license plates.

I hate getting parking tickets, it always happens to me for some reason. And it’s not like I’m
out to spite The Man and park anywhere just for the hell of it. It must be coz it’s the end of the
month. Gotta meet quotas, you know, and where else in Sibu can you get 20 at once. Hmph. Anyway, I
went to the pasar malam today with my mates Daniel and Johnny. Guys always seems to go out in
three’s coz two will suggest questionable sexual orientation and one seems kinda sad. hehe.

A noisy photo of us. I’m the guy with the hand down the pants. I can’t remember why I did
that. :)

Headed out to Kin Orient Plaza to get another Photoshop CD coz the last one was an upgrade
version. After that, we headed down to the pasar malam to take a couple of pics. I haven’t been
there in…ten years I think. I hear it’s getting torn down in July to make way for a tourist
attraction of some sort. After that, we went to Premier for more photo taking fun and finally went
to Taman Selera (grr…) to get something to eat. Had some chicken chop. I was taking a photo of my
friends when the group of waitresses behind them started smiling at the camera. One of the them
asked me to take a photo of them, and I was more than happy to oblige. Heh.

(Click for a larger picture)

The waitresses (and a waiter). There seems to be some debate to which is prettier, the white
shirt with a blue spiral design or the black shirt with Number 1 on it. Make yourself heard.White shirt or Black shirt?

Anyway, I found a dead lizard outside my door today. I hear it’s because my cat is offering her
friendship to me in her own way. Sharing her food with me, so to speak, coz she doesn’t want me to
go hungry. How sweet.